BOX
SCORE
NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Babson College broke open a scoreless game
with two goals in a span of 20 seconds midway through the third
period to help propel the second-seeded Beavers past fifth-seeded
Skidmore College, 3-0, in an ECAC East Tournament semifinal contest
Friday evening at Kreitzberg Arena.
Babson first-year goaltender Zeke Testa was
sharp in the Beavers' goal, stopping all 23 shots that he faced.
The shutout was his second of the season, as he lowered his goals
against average to 1.96 and upped his save percentage to .933 in 17
games this season.
First-year Ryan Smith scored a power play goal at
8:04 of the third period off an assist from senior Casey
Fazekas to open the scoring for Babson. Fazekas had the
puck behind the net before feeding Smith near the crease for his
ninth goal of the season.
The Beavers (14-11-2) needed just 20 seconds to double their
lead as sophomore Sean Roche tallied his sixth
marker of the season at the 8:24 mark off assists from sophomore
Cody Carlson and freshman Jay
Haseley. Roche took the feed from Carlson and roofed the
puck into the top of the goal.
Senior Chris Wood sealed the victory with an
empty-net goal at 18:27 of the third period - his 13th goal of the
season.
Skidmore goalie Andrew Ross made 23 saves for the Thoroughbreds
in the loss.
Skidmore (9-16-2) had the better of play in the first period,
holding a 7-2 edge in shots. The Thoroughbreds were kept off the
scoreboard, however, as Testa stopped all seven shot attempts.
Babson seemed to control play in the second stanza as the
Beavers enjoyed an 11-8 advantage in shots. Testa and Ross were
both perfect, though, and the game moved into the second
intermission in a scoreless deadlock. The Beavers then put the game
away with their three-goal third period.
Babson held a 26-23 edge in shots for the game. The Beavers went
1-for-2 on the power play, while Skidmore was 0-for-2 with the
man-advantage.
The league's defending champion, Babson will face top-seeded
Norwich in the ECAC East Tournament championship game on Saturday,
March 6, at 7 p.m. The winner will receive the conference's
automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, which begins next week.
NOTE: Taken from a Norwich University press release.
